JUNGIAN ARCHETYPES AND THEIR MEANING
Freedom stretches only as far as the limits of our consciousness.
In this post
For historical and cultural reasons, what has been passed on to Western Culture about the form and function of the Jungian Archetypes is incomplete. In this brief article you’ll find a summary of the true meaning and purpose of the Jungian Archetypes. Part of this article is taken from the book “The Journey of the Self”.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The lost meaning
The conception of human being is the key to correctly interpret the Jungian Archetypes.
In the vast majority of the literature on the subject—which I have been studying extensively since the late 80’s—the Archetypes are presented as what we might call “the inescapable syntax of the human experience”, in stark contrast with the universal message that they were originally intended to convey, which is based on a spiritual conception of human being, not a psychological one.
This is a crucially important difference that needs to be fully appreciated to correctly comprehend the message of the archetypes.
If we erroneously assume, as we do in Western cultures, that the Jungian Archetypes describe the fundamental structure of the human experience, then we have a psychological picture of life where the human being is meant to be at the mercy of his psyche.
Two notions of human being
The clash between a spiritual conception of human being and the psychological conception of human being used in most Western societies.
In mainstream Western culture, we have given a psychological interpretation of the Jungian Archetypes because we have invented Psychology to deal with the mental and emotional aspects of the human experience.
The Western “psychological human being”, so to speak, is a sort of puppet at the mercy of the psychological drama, and the quality of his life is defined by the narrative of the self-fulfilling prophecies offered by the archetypal chatter. The best a psychological human being can hope for is to learn how to live with the relentless, repetitive story we call human drama.
The Jungian Archetypes just happen to be a powerful language to describe the toxic narrative that is believed to be the human experience, but that’s not their true purpose. Think about how much of the psychological description of a human being anchors you to the very narrative that creates the problems Psychology tries to address and solve, and you’ll see the problem with the Western interpretation of the archetypes and with a purely psychological conception of human being.
The human being of the Eastern Wisdom Traditions is a very different creature. He is a spiritual being that learns early in life that the petty narrative of the psyche is at the origin of human suffering and must be deliberately outgrown to become adult and real: hence the radically different interpretation of the archetypes.
For him, the message of the Jungian Archetypes is a proven template to exercise introspection and become who he can be. There’s no need to invent psychology because the narrative of the psyche belongs to childhood. It belongs to an early stage of human development and as such its presence must be acknowledged in a mature way to move on; it’s never meant to be the syntax of life!
So what's really an archetype?
Archetypes as elements of your deep consciousness that are meant to help you hatch out of your psychological placenta.
The myth of the hero that goes on a journey replete with dangers and pitfalls, slays dragons, rescues damsels in distress, finds a sacred object and brings it back to his kingdom is the epitome of these psychological patterns.
How do the archetypes work?
The archetypes work if you learn how to listen to them.
The experience of life that originates from the archetypes is full of drama, suffering and tribulation, and can make us perceive our existence here on Earth as a sort of punishment in which life is “inflicted” to us rather than being a gift for us to enjoy.
Through the metaphors of the archetypes, we unconsciously develop the beliefs of what a human being is, of what life is and what is in harmony with human nature, and use those beliefs to imagine our future, and to ask ourselves how we can feel deeply alive and successful in that future.
The six fundamental archetypal quests
Think of these 6 paths as senses.
Understanding mindful
compassion and self-mastery
The realization that
you're not stranded
here on earth
Understanding change,
opportunity, and value
The doors of true
self-perception
Getting the big picture
and your role in it
Learning to transform
yourself and the world
around you
THE 12 JUNGIAN ARCHETYPES IN A NUTSHELL
A simple way to decode the primitive structure of the human experience
The Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst C. G. Jung, identified 12 archetypes as the basic components of the collective unconscious, the combination of which, in varying proportions, describes the psychological fabric of every human being.
Each archetype embodies a way of viewing human existence, and symbolizes how we experience the awakening of our consciousness.
The archetypes characterize what are regarded as the main themes of human existence: safety, responsibility, identity, authenticity, power and freedom.
The archetypes have a purpose to fulfill, fears that threaten their purpose, and a bright and a dark side that characterize how they can evolve.
The Innocent, the Orphan, and the archetypal quest for Safety
The Innocent
He seeks safety and fears abandonment and punishment.
He has a positive, optimistic and sometimes naive outlook on life, and a tendency to deny problems and put too much trust in others.
His shadow sides are his proclivity to avoid conflict and to live in denial.
His qualities are loyalty, trust, integrity, optimism and open-mindedness.
THE ORPHAN
He wants to belong and fears being taken advantage of and being left out in the cold.
He has a down-to-earth, sometimes cynical view of the world, and a tendency to feel victimized by life.
His shadow sides are dishonesty, predatory behavior, and expecting special treatment and exemption from duties.
His qualities are realism, honesty, interdependence and pragmatism.
The Warrior, the Caregiver, and the archetypal quest for Responsibility
THE WARRIOR
Also known as the Hero, the warrior wants to win and protect the weak, and fears frailty.
He has a strong sense of justice, and is willing to confront anything if that is the right thing to do.
The shadow side of the warrior is the villain, a ruthless, violent, rampant and amoral personality, always looking for the next prey.
His qualities are courage, competence, discipline and self-mastery.
THE CAREGIVER
He wants to protect, heal and help the others, and has a profound aversion to selfishness and indifference.
He tends to spread himself too thin, and finds it difficult to say no and to set healthy boundaries for himself.
When he manifests his shadow sides, he can turn into a martyr, or in a personality that uses caretaking to manipulate others.
His qualities are empathy, compassion, generosity and selflessness.
The Seeker, the Lover, and the archetypal quest for Identity
THE LOVER
He wants joy, intimacy and ecstasy, and fears rejection and feeling unwanted.
He tends to avoid conflict and finds it hard to face commanding and arrogant personalities.
His shadow sides are sexual, emotional and relational addictions.
His qualities are commitment, passion, devotion, gratitude and diplomacy.
THE SEEKER
He wants new experiences and fears conformity and feeling stuck in a rut.
He is reluctant to enter long-term commitments if he feels that they may limit his freedom.
His shadow sides are pointless perfectionism, shallow thinking, and the inability to commit to a goal.
His qualities are creativity, ambition, authenticity and a genuine sense of wonder.
The Destroyer, the Creator, and the archetypal quest for Authenticity
THE DESTROYER
He is a change agent in the broadest possible sense.
He fears stagnation, annihilation and the stale status-quo, and can sometimes get carried away by his quest to bring metamorphosis into cultural systems, ideas, traditions and in what doesn’t work.
His shadow sides are self-destructive behavior and physical and psychological abuse.
His qualities are charisma, humility and vision.
THE CREATOR
He wants to create new, meaningful things, and fears inauthenticity, banality and feeling defined by stereotypes.
He is a true artist, a trailblazer, a creative soul that aims for the stars, and that can sometimes get in his own way by becoming a perfectionist.
His shadow side is an obsessive, ineffectual personality that either disintegrates itself into perfectionism or that never achieves anything because is incapable of focusing on one thing.
His qualities are creativity, ambition, individuality, courage, purpose and imagination.
The King, the Magician, and the archetypal quest for Power
THE KING
He loves to control, wants to bring lasting prosperity to his community and fears chaos and sabotage.
He has a vision of a preferred future and does not tolerate easily those who don’t share his vision.
His shadow side is the dictator, the megalomaniac who doesn’t know how to handle responsibilities.
His qualities are leadership, resolve, authority and responsibility.
THE MAGICIAN
He wants to gain the ultimate knowledge of Nature and fears the malevolent use of the mysteries of the Universe.
He has the ability to read reality in radically new ways and transform the world with the power of his superior knowledge.
His shadow side belittles himself or the others, and turns good into evil.
His qualities are charisma and personal power, and are emphasized by his unshakable belief in the power of knowledge.
The Sage, the Fool, and the archetypal quest for Freedom
THE SAGE
He wants to understand and educate the others, and does not tolerate ignorance, deception, dishonesty and stupidity.
His ability to explain complex ideas in simple terms is unparalleled.
His shadow sides are dogmatism, cold unfeeling rationality, and thinking that the others are wrong and not good enough.
He is a scholar, a communicator and a teacher.
His qualities are wisdom, competence, curiosity, intelligence, integrity and objectivity.
THE FOOL
He wants to live to the full, reveal the lighter side of things and enjoy life.
He fears boredom, lethargy and gloominess, and has the ability to create an atmosphere of joy and happiness. Beneath the surface, he is a deeply spiritual being that emanates joy as a result of his spiritual wealth.
His shadow side is indulging in excesses.
His qualities are lightheartedness, joyfulness, authenticity, open-heartedness and freedom.
